Updated: 4/30/2008 9:34:18 AM
By CLAUDIA PINTO Staff Writer
Tormented by bouts of diarrhea, Vickie Storm would avoid leaving her home for fear of having an accident in public.
A proposed law is expected to help thousands of Tennesseans who, like Storm, have difficulty controlling their bowels.
The Tennessee Restroom Access Act will allow people with "a medical condition that requires immediate access to a restroom" to use a business' private restroom, as long as that business employs three or more people.
"You can feel fine one minute, and the next minute you have to go to the bathroom, and there's very little control," said Storm, who has Crohn's disease.
"If you are told the restroom is for employees only, there may be no time to get to another one."
State Sen. Doug Jackson, D-Dickson, who co-sponsored the bill, said all this population has to do is show an employee a note from their doctor or an identification card from the Tennessee chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.
He said businesses face up to a $100 fine for each instance that someone is denied bathroom access.
Jackson said the law is expected to go into effect on July 1. It's awaiting Gov. Phil Bredesen's signature.
"I think as fellow citizens, we have to reach out and show sufferers of this disease some sympathy and compassion," Jackson said. "Their condition requires that they have access to bathroom facilities."
The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce doesn't have a position on this issue, according to its public relations manager, Stephanie Pepper.
There are roughly 30,000 Tennesseans who have been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, conditions that cause diarrhea and abdominal pain. And there are many more who suffer from incontinence and irritable bowel syndrome.
"Hopefully, this law will give them a little more freedom, a little more dignity," said Dana Taylor, president of the board of trustees for the Tennessee chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.
Taylor, who has a 12-year-old son with ulcerative colitis, said it's not unusual for people with these conditions to have to use the bathroom 20 to 25 times a day, so access is critical.
'A humbling disease'
"When people have food poisoning or the stomach flu, they stay at home so they can be near a bathroom," Taylor said. "Someone with a chronic disease is dealing with this every day. Our patients are just trying to live a normal life."
Storm, of Brentwood, said she has found medication that is helping her to manage Crohn's. She thinks the new law will be a huge benefit for those still struggling with the disease.
"It's a humbling disease," Storm said. "You certainly don't want to have someone confined to their home for something as simple as this."
